Meet DC Matt Richmond

What motivated you to join Northamptonshire Police?

In 2016, while I was working for a building supply company, my wife gave birth to our first child, a boy. When he was born, I became very aware that I needed to set an example to him and didn’t want to spend my career making someone richer than me even richer. I also wanted to give back to the community in which I lived in a more direct way, so I applied for a job at Northampton General Hospital.

In 2018, my daughter was born, and I was left with a similar feeling. I now had to care for a young child who would hopefully grow up to be an independent, successful woman. I wanted to show her that she could be everything that her brother could be and that she should pursue her goals no matter how unattainable they may seem. I then realised that if she were to ask me if that’s what I had done, I would be forced to admit that I hadn’t.

I had always harboured a desire to work as either a police officer or a teacher, but my fear of failure had prevented me from trying. On that basis, I made enquiries to begin both re-training as a teacher and applied with Northamptonshire Police. I was offered the job as a police officer before I was offered a teaching position and have never looked back.

What were your ambitions when you joined Northamptonshire Police?

When I joined, I simply wanted to be a competent and effective police officer, and was happy to explore options within the police. I was ignorant as to how the force operates as an organisation and, although I had always been interested in becoming a detective, I believed that I needed to become at least somewhat experienced as a police constable first.

I was never someone who chased statistics or detections, I simply wanted to help as many people as I could in the most appropriate and effective ways.

I have never lost my desire to teach and would like to someday become a police trainer – something which I think marries the two careers effectively.

How do you balance your career and family commitments?

It can be difficult. I moved out of county a couple of years ago to be closer to my wife’s family, and although the commute can be a pain, it provides me with a nice, solitary 30-40 minutes in which to reflect on my day, switch off and slowly transition from the police officer I need to be at work to the person my family needs me to be at home.

I make time to spend with my children and make sure I leave work at work. I do not open my laptop or switch on my work phone when I am on rest days and annual leave and have found the support and understanding given to me by my line managers to be invaluable.

What achievement are you most proud of?

The day I returned to work from my Tier 2 Detective’s training course, I was allocated an attempted murder investigation as OIC (officer in case), and I worked very hard. I knew that the high-level nature of the investigation would mean that it would receive attention from command and therefore my reputation as an investigator was under scrutiny. I was able to complete the investigation, interview the suspect and charge them with attempted murder. This continued to trial at Crown Court where they were later convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

I later received a commendation from the Chief Constable for this and consider it my greatest achievement in the police to date.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

In my current role, I work for the Child Abuse Investigation Unit (CAIU), a department that investigates offences committed against children younger than 13, or offences that involve any child from an adult in a position of trust.

I get to meet a great deal of children who deserve and require protection from the police and work daily to directly improve their safeguarding. I can think of no greater job in the police than working to protect those that cannot protect themselves and consider it an honour to do so. I know that my actions have positively improved a young person’s life, and with that comes an enormous feeling of job satisfaction.

What is an average day like for you?

I arrive at my desk, book on and check my emails. I will then attend a briefing where I am told about any jobs that are for my department and will usually be allocated a job to look at. If it is urgent, I will head out straight away, whereas if it is arranged for later in the day, I will look at and respond to any emails. Some of the emails will come with work that can take some time to complete.

I will attend meetings with social workers, sometimes meeting children with them. I also go out and speak to victims and witnesses and update them on the progress of their investigation.

Sometimes, I will take statements or interview witnesses evidentially. I will also interview arrested suspects or invite them in for voluntary interviews, where needed.

I complete paperwork, request forensic evidence, review downloaded phone data extractions, prepare case files for the CPS and have regular meetings with my supervisor to ensure that my investigations are up-to-date, and my wellbeing is in order.

What are your goals for the future?

Earlier in the year, I completed my TEP (Training Essentials Programme) qualification, becoming a qualified police trainer.

I was previously qualified to deliver SafeLives DA Matters training, which I did several times over the last few years. I have also assisted Core Training many times with end of course training scenarios during the multi-practical days and have assisted and assessed PIP1 and PIP2 interview training and ABE training.

It is my eventual goal to join the training department as a police trainer, fulfilling my desire to work both as a police officer and teacher. I really enjoy training; I find the outcome of sending students out to be effective and honest police officers to be an extremely rewarding element to the job.

Why did you choose to become a detective?

As much as I enjoyed working on response, I always believed my strengths lie in analysing and problem solving, picking apart events to understand what happened and why. I think these traits are what put me on the path to becoming a detective and my attention to detail and thorough approach to policing make me good at what I do. As important as all criminal investigations are, I wanted to investigate the most serious and complex crimes and could only do so as a qualified detective.

Interested?

Has DC Richmond's story piqued your interest in becoming a detective? Take a look at how you can join us here at Northamptonshire Police or view all our current vacancies.